Articles in this Issue
The Online Connection to Highway Infrastructure Security
and Emergency Management Resources
Information on training and tools for highway security and
emergency management is now easily accessible online at the Federal Highway
Administration's (FHWA) new Highway Infrastructure Security and Emergency
Management Professional Capacity Building Web site
(www.fhwa.dot.gov/security/emergencymgmt/profcapacitybldg).
FHWA Launches Economic Recovery Web Site
To assist its State and local partners and other
stakeholders in implementing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
(ARRA), which provides significant new funding for transportation
infrastructure, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has launched an ARRA
Web site at www.fhwa.dot.gov/economicrecovery.
Drive to Survive—Our Future is Riding on It:
National Work Zone Awareness Week 2009
In 2007, 835 workers and motorists were killed in highway
work zones and more than 40,000 were injured. Eighty-five percent of those
killed in work zones are drivers or their passengers. The message for motorists
during National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) 2009, scheduled for April
6–10, is "Drive to Survive—Our Future is Riding on It!"
Accelerating Innovation Implementation
A new monthly Web conference series sponsored by the Federal
Highway Administration's (FHWA) Highways for LIFE (HfL) program and the
National Highway Institute (NHI) brings you up-to-the-minute information on
today's highway technology advances. Topics featured in the free NHI
Innovations series to date include Road Safety Audits, Performance Contracting
for Construction, Self-Consolidating Concrete, Roundabouts, and Bridge
Inspection. Upcoming Web conferences include one on FHWA's Connections Manual
for Prefabricated Bridges (April 8, 2009).
A Portable Field Guide for Bridge Inspectors
Both convenient and easy to use, a new pocket guide
available from the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Resource Center
offers a portable reference for bridge inspectors. Stream Instability,
Bridge Scour, and Countermeasures: A Field Guide for Bridge Inspectors provides tips and guidance on what to look for with regard to both stream
instability, including lateral instability, degradation, and aggradation, and
scour at bridges, including contraction scour, pier scour, and abutment scour.
Also covered are plans of action and countermeasures, such as monitoring, flood
watches, bridge closures, and river training countermeasures.
SHRP 2 Issues New Requests for Proposals
The next round of requests
for proposals (RFPs) for Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) 2 projects
was scheduled to be released March 10, 2009. As authorized under the 2005 Safe,
Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users
(SAFETEA-LU), SHRP 2's goal is to develop recommended procedures, practices,
and applications to advance the Nation's highway system in the key focus areas
of safety, renewal, reliability, and capacity. The new RFPs will be issued in
all four focus areas. Projects in the renewal area will include "Innovation in
the Location of Deep Utilities," "Project Management Strategies for Complex
Projects," "Nondestructive Testing for Tunnels," and "Strategic Approaches at
the Corridor and Network Level to Minimize Disruption from the Renewal
Process."
Highway Technology Calendar
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